Recently, hosts Ebru, Meghan and Seren have been experiencing various difficulties in our lives outside of academia that have disrupted our abilities to work on our PhDs. In this episode we want to reflect on how these difficulties have impacted us, our work, our views on academia, and how to manage future disruptions. It is inevitable to face some form of disruption along the PhD journey. We discuss just a few of those impacting us in the hope that it provides some reassurance and guidance to others. Get used to expecting the unexpected.